Morning Conversations
by NoelleWynters
Summary: Will was not a morning person, but the morning after their New Year's celebration he discovered there can be a purpose to early morning conversations.


_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

_As well, this comes after *takes deep breath* **Safe**, **A Storybrooke Christmas** & **For Times Gone By**. I'm not sticking it in the crossover section with the others as it technically doesn't qualify, with only a mention of one character from OUAT._

A rap at the door woke Will from his light sleep. He grumbled as he glanced over at the clock on his bedside table, wondering who would be insane enough to disturb him at 8:30am. He knew the town had a lot of odd characters, but none had been crazy enough to bother him before eleven o'clock in the morning. At least not after the time Happy had stopped by and Will had been tempted to toss him down the flight of stairs leading up to his second floor apartment.

Will Scarlet was not a morning person, never was and never would be. But obviously the person on the other side of the door to his apartment was and Will was ready to explain the benefits of sleeping in to whoever this foolish person was.

He stumbled his was out of his room, contemplating making coffee first just to make whoever it was wait on him, and possibly leave, but thought better of it. He got to the door and grasped the handle, swinging it open and barking a very annoyed "Do you know what time it is?" to the person on the other side.

Will was rather surprised to see Cyrus standing on his threshold, looking a little wary after that greeting. The genie actually looked as though he was considering it better for his own well being to leave at that exact moment, but Will apologized for his rude greeting and ushered him into the apartment.

Cyrus still looked a little doubtful, but did as he was told. Will shook his head, trying not to laugh at that. It seemed old habits did die hard, as it was more than obvious Cyrus was still considering leaving and trying again later. "You know, most people don't go calling at this hour of the morning," Will told him as he walked towards his kitchen to start coffee. "Unless of course they come bearing coffee."

"I'm sorry, everyone at home is always up by now so I went on the assumption you would be awake as well," Cyrus apologized as he glanced around the apartment. He was slightly surprised to see it decorated for Christmas, as Will had never struck him as the sentimental type and holidays seemed to be filled with that.

"Yeah well, never assume those types of things. If you'd been one of the dwarves I may well have picked you up and tossed you down the flight of stairs. But I know you're quite agile and if you had a sword handy I'd come out the worse in that altercation," he idly commented, smiling slightly at the wistful way Cyrus spoke the word 'home'. It was fairly identical to the way Alice would say the word as well. For all the griping he had a tendency to do over that lovely and highly unwanted adventure in Wonderland not that long ago, he was glad something good had come of it. He could tell as the journey wore on that one thing Alice longed for was a place to belong, and somehow the genie gave her that. He could only imagine it was the same for Cyrus, as he'd never met him and could only guess what sort of life a genie would have.

If he were the sentimental type that thought might be enough to make him melt a little, but he wasn't really. He was glad they were both happy and had found somewhere to call home, and people to share it with. He could remember what that felt like, and was glad they both knew that sense of belonging after the lives they'd both led. Although he knew more about Alice's life than he did Cyrus'.

He shook his head slightly to rid himself of any thoughts of his past, and glanced at the coffee maker, willing the coffee to suddenly appear in the pot. He really hated waiting on it, more this morning as he was feeling a touch hung over.

Cyrus noticed that, and handed Will the bottle he'd been grasping in his hands. Will took it, looking at him curiously. "Rumpel said to bring it to you, as you might be feeling a slight bit worse for wear after last night. He promised it will cure whatever may be ailing you. His words, not mine," Cyrus explained.

Will eyed the bottle; the contents didn't look any different than water which gave him the impression this was just a joke. Why come all this way on a chilly morning to give him something he could just pour out of a tap? It wasn't like he and Cyrus were close, so this little visit seemed pointless. It wasn't that he didn't want to get to know the genie, after all he'd been through to help Alice rescue him, but the man in question never seemed forthcoming with any personal information and Will wasn't the type to pry. Well, he was but knew better in some cases. If Cyrus was going to talk, he would and he'd just have to wait.

Although he was fairly certain his lifespan would come to an end first. Alice had told him a few things they'd learned after the altercation with Jafar, but only a brief glossing over and it wasn't anything he hadn't figured out on his own.

The other reason he hadn't bothered to initiate any deeper conversations with Cyrus was the simple fact then he'd have to open up and share about his life as well and he was reluctant to do so. He'd discovered one thing in the few times he'd been around Cyrus; he had a personality that made it easy to open up to him. Will didn't understand it; unless it was from the fact he was a genie and really did exist solely to give mortals their deepest desires, within the laws of magic of course.

"Would you like some coffee?" he inquired, starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the uneasy silence that was hanging in the room. Why couldn't Alice have brought the strange concoction from Rumpel over?

Cyrus nodded, still looking over the living space. It seemed rather sparse, other than the Christmas decorations and the boxes they were obviously meant to return to very soon. It actually struck him as rather odd, he was under the impression Will had lived in Storybrooke for the duration of the curse yet his home was almost empty. Even his own bottle had seemed more of a home than this.

Will was watching him with some amusement. He could tell Cyrus was rather baffled by his apartment, and was longing to say something about it. He'd never really bothered to decorate the place, even during the curse, as he'd always had a feeling he'd not be staying long. Even cursed without his memories, he'd felt this place wasn't somewhere he was meant to stay for long. He'd known something was missing, and now that he'd had his memories returned he knew exactly what it was. But he would never admit it out loud to anyone, Alice had tried to get him to admit still loving Anastasia, but he'd managed to evade her constant questioning and insistence that he still carried a torch for her. He trusted Alice enough to not say something to anyone else.

"You're missing something in your life," Cyrus said, pulling Will out of his thought a second before the coffee maker beeped, signaling what he called the elixir of life was ready.

"Yeah, I could use a bit more furniture but I don't really call that missing anything. I can rectify that little issue at any point if I feel the urge. So long as I have a comfy chair and a telly I'm well off really. Well, and a bed, those are handy things to have as well," he answered, getting two mugs out of the cupboard.

Cyrus shook his head as he walked over to the small kitchen table and sat down. "That is not what I meant. Material objects do not bring happiness or a sense of completion in life," he began to say when Will broke in with a harsh laugh.

"I don't know about that, beds are pretty handy to have," he quipped, walking over with the two mugs of coffee. He set them down and then went back for the cream and sugar, hoping he could steer Cyrus away from the conversation he was trying to initiate. Will wouldn't mind knowing more about the genie, but he'd be damned if he'd get into his own personal life.

Cyrus could tell Will was avoiding the topic. Rarely would he push anything, it really wasn't in his nature. Maybe in his long forgotten life as a mortal he had been more forceful, but after lifetimes of being told what to do and never having anyone interact with him beyond calling him 'genie' and saying 'I wish for...' or yelling at him because he could not grant certain wishes, this was a bit of a trial for him. He wanted to get to know this person who had helped Alice, but he wasn't willing to give someone who was pretty much a stranger to him a lot of personal information on himself without the same in kind.

He was under the impression that was how friendship worked. You trust each other with personal stories, fears, hopes and thoughts. Alice had taught him that, although at first she was the one doing all the sharing. Of course, being a genie he'd only ever had one hope, and it was one that could never come true but he'd held on to it regardless, wondering if there was a way it could come true. Now he knew he could never be free, but this was close enough.

"You know what I meant," Cyrus said as Will sat across from him. He watched as the Knave dumped a few heaping spoonfuls of sugar into the black drink in his mug and began to drink it. "How can you stand to drink that?"

Will grinned. "Easy, tip the mug back and swallow. And I don't stand, I actually sit to drink it most of the time."

Cyrus groaned; he should have seen that coming. Will never could take anything serious and that was what bothered him. The man had said some rather heartfelt things in the past, a few of them directed at himself. He appreciated how everyone did make a point of telling him almost constantly he was not a piece of property, and hopefully one day he'd stop thinking that way. Even during all his time with Alice that thought had never left him, he'd always known one day she'd be gone, either through using her wishes or she'd move on to wherever mortals went after life ended.

"You know, I can read people quite well. You are missing something in your life," he insisted, pouring a bit of cream into his coffee and completely ignoring the sugar.

"Well, there is the business about my heart. Which I have a feeling you know about," Will answered.

Cyrus winced slightly; he had hoped to keep that to himself. "Yes, well I did figure that out on my own. Alice only confirmed it."

"Just how did you figure it out? Even Alice didn't realize it until I told her," Will muttered, glancing out the window. He knew he wasn't exactly one for wearing his heart on his sleeve, like the person across from him, but he was pretty sure his lack of actually having a heart wasn't obvious.

"I'm a genie; I've learned quickly how to read people. I can predict wishes, I can tell the temperament of a master shortly after appearing before them. I could always tell which master would be the one to push things, who would grow angry when I explained I could not grant a particular wish and which ones were the kind masters. I may not be as experience in life as you are, but I do know a thing or two about human nature. I could tell shortly after everything settled from the dealings with Jafar something was off with you. I had my suspicions but Alice confirmed that you did not have a heart, in the rather literal sense of the phrase. Don't be angry at her, she slipped it out by mistake one evening," he explained, watching Will careful for his reaction. It was an old habit, whenever he had to say something a master would not like he was always cautious of how they'd react.

Much to his surprise, Will just shrugged. "Well, it makes life easier, not having that bloody thing beating in my chest and causing me unnecessary pain."

Cyrus was stunned at that, why would anyone want to go through life feeling nothing? Obviously his face gave away his thoughts, as Will jumped in before he could even speak. "Look, there is a rather sad tale of love and loss behind it, but I don't miss it. I always thought I'd put it back but it was just easier to not deal with the pain. I would think with the life you've had, you'd completely understand that."

"I'm sorry, but I don't. I've been told life is full of heartache, you can't run from it. Maybe the sorrows and pains I've experienced in my long life are small compared to what mortals experience, but I would not wish to go through life without any emotions. You can't continue to run from it forever Will," he argued, completely confused that Will would rather run from problems than try to deal with them.

Will put his cup down a bit more forceful than he'd intended, and glared at the person across from him. "And what do you know of heartache or betrayal? You've spent hundreds of years in a bottle with very little interaction with people, I wouldn't think you'd know anything of it. The only betrayal that actually affected your life you can't even remember, so I don't think you have any right to speak to me on any of this," he snapped, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. He actually contemplated tossing Cyrus out right then and there; he didn't talk about Anastasia for a reason: if he didn't say her name then she wasn't real. Just some bad dream that had haunted him for a time, and nothing more.

"I suppose in a way you are right; I don't understand the way the world works the way you and everyone else does. I'm still learning, but one thing I've learned is there isn't much point to living without love. I've seen so many people over the years that had nothing in their lives, and they wished for what they thought would make them happy instead of letting go of the anger and resentment they felt towards the world. Pain is a part of life, as is betrayal, sorrow and many other negative emotions and experiences. But I would think the good would always outweigh the bad. You can't have one without the other," Cyrus said, fully expecting with that statement to find himself told very abruptly to leave.

Surprisingly, Will didn't throw him out. He leveled him with a look he couldn't fully read. "You don't know how much it can tear you apart to be betrayed, to think someone loved you and would always be at your side only to be tossed over for something better at the first chance. Until you know what that feels like, which I highly doubt you ever will, then we can talk about betrayal. It is a heart wrenching pain that just never goes away."

"Everything goes both ways, have you thought maybe she had no choice in her actions and regrets it as well?" Cyrus pointed out.

Will snorted at that statement; there was no way she'd been coerced into her decision. "I don't know about that, living with someone who could only offer love over having beautiful dresses, power, a title and pretty crowns? I would think her hand was far from forced into marrying a king."

At that revelation Cyrus found words failed him for a moment. His mind was spinning at that, he'd fancied Will's past involved love and loss, but he'd never figured it had been someone he knew. "The Red Queen?" he gasped, thoroughly shocked. Alice had mentioned it was one reason he had been reluctant to return to Wonderland, but he never would have thought it was that particular woman.

"Ah, I guess you get points for figuring it out that quickly. So now that you know who it is, I suppose you can shut up about it. There is no other side to that story, she saw pretty jewels and decided she'd rather a sparkling crown then some chap who couldn't even provide her the certainty of food every day," Will said in flat voice.

"There is always another side to every story," Cyrus insisted, much to Will's annoyance. Wasn't it bad enough he'd been woken up far too early in the morning, did he have to listen to all this love rubbish too?

"And how would you know?" Will retorted, thoroughly annoyed. Maybe things would be better if he didn't get to know Cyrus. At least he'd be left in peace. Acquaintances might be the best way to leave their relationship.

Cyrus sighed, he had his doubts Will would listen to what he had to say. What he knew he was taking from a book. "The book that the Blue Fairy had, it had an account of how I was cursed to be a genie. I'm sure you've heard most of the reasons why it was done, but the person who wrote the account didn't stop there. His name was Darius and he didn't just write out what happened and left it there, he wrote how it made him feel. I cannot understand why he did that, unless he had some hope the book would survive the years and I would come upon it one day," he explained, to which Will couldn't help but ask what difference it made. He'd heard the tale on how Cyrus became a genie, but Alice had never elaborated after that. He didn't ask, it really was none of his business, just as his dealings with Anastasia were of no concern to the rest of them. "It turns out, from what I've read in the book and what I remember of him, as he was the first master I can recall, in my mortal life we were very close friends."

Will felt his jaw go slightly slack at that piece of information. He hadn't expected that, and certainly had not expected Cyrus to continue talking. As he sat there and listened to him recount what he'd read in the book, he started to wonder if maybe Anastasia did have her own reasoning for her betrayal.

He'd always been quite assured of her love, and he'd loved her with all his heart and soul. He would have done anything for her, and had in some cases. For her, he'd steal the moon if she had wanted it, only to see her smile. Even now, he felt at times he'd do anything for her, just to hear her laughter and see her big blue eyes looking at him with nothing but adoration and devotion. But without his heart beating in a bothersome way in his chest, those thoughts were easy to kill off.

As Cyrus brought his story to a close, to which Will actually found himself appreciative of the fact the man had finally opened up to him a bit, he laughed slightly and shook his head. "Is this Alice's bid to convince me to tell you all where I hid my heart?" he asked.

"No, I really did just come over to bring you whatever is in that bottle," Cyrus told him, looking slightly offended Will thought he'd had some underhanded reason for being there.

"Sure, sure. I'll believe you when a thousand other's wouldn't," he laughed, and his laughter only increased by the slightly baffled look at his words. "It is a figure of speech. Look, even if that wasn't your intention coming here, you can tell Alice I might consider this whole putting my heart back thing. But also tell her not to get her hopes up and start planning on another adventure right away. I've gone this long feeling empty; I'm not going to jump at the opportunity to start feeling any of that again right away."

Cyrus nodded, he actually hadn't come over to try and talk Will into telling Alice where he'd hidden his heart. He had wandered into the kitchen to have Rumpel hand him a bottle filled with some sort of drink, explaining he should take it to Will. But, he decided, if Will wanted to believe he'd had an alternative motive in this early morning visit, he'd leave him to it.

Will suddenly stood up from the table, taking his mug into the kitchen to pour himself some more coffee. "So, you have anywhere to be?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder to see if Cyrus was even listening to him. The genie did have a habit of wandering off into his musings at times.

"No, I have no plans today that I am aware of," he answered, wondering where Will was going with his line of questioning.

"Well, seeing as we're having a moment, I could use a hand getting the Christmas tree packed away and two people make it all the quicker. I'll make it worth your while and take you for lunch afterwards at Granny's. She's finally allowed me back in after what happened to the floor, and me stealing the spare keys," he explained.

Cyrus agreed, saying he didn't have to worry about the last part but Will cut in. "Look, you ask a mate to help you out, you do something in return. You don't have to help me, but you are and oddly in more ways than one. So after I finish this coffee and take a shower we'll get to the tree. Just don't be going through my things when I'm not in the room. I heard from Rumpel you have a habit of doing that."

"It was only the one time," Cyrus argued, making Will laugh at his tone. He sounded a bit like a child being reminded of their every transgression.

"If you insist. And don't be turning any of my stuff into coal again. It was an amusing joke while it lasted, I was rather happy to come home from my walk Christmas Day to see everything the way it should be, no matter if I picked it up or not, but don't try it again," he said as he sat back down at the table.

"You are aware I can't use my magic for my own use, so I doubt I'll be turning any of your possessions into anything else," Cyrus answered, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

They both sat in silence again for a few moments, but this time it was more of an amiable silence than uncomfortable. It was strange how early morning conversations over coffee could sometimes be all the more meaningful then one later in the day. Will would never be a morning person, but he had to admit Cyrus' sudden visit had given him something to think about.

He took another sip of his coffee and glanced over at the genie, who was once more lost in his own thoughts, wondering what it was about him that seemed to bring out the good in anyone he came into contact with, Jafar excluded from that sentiment. If anyone else had come over and started talking about love, betrayal and all the rest he'd have given them a cynical retort and tossed them, but for some reason Cyrus had managed to get him to realize he was missing something in life.

Maybe he would never accept Anastasia back in his life, or ever see her again, but there was a good chance he could finally start to work through that pain. He had a good support system now, he knew they'd be there for him when he had need.

He set his empty mug back down and excused himself to take a shower, once more impressing upon Cyrus to stay out of his things, and wandered off to the washroom. Maybe it was time for another adventure back to the Enchanted Forest, to give a certain Knave back his heart.

_AN: Someone brought it to my attention I failed to give Will a nice Christmas, so this happened. It also worked out as a tidy lead in to another longer fic for this AU. I'm not sure when I'll start posting it, or writing it, as I have another I started a week ago I'm researching/writing. But either way, this does lead into something more. I just like this little AU I created that I'm not ready to leave it any time soon, so I hope other's enjoy it too._


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